Mon, 03/03/2014 - 15:00

Gulfstream Park: Honor Code works again

Tom Keyser
Honor Code worked five furlongs in 59.18 seconds on Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Honor Code moved another step closer to his 3-year-old debut after working five furlongs in 59.18 seconds under jockey Javier Castellano on Sunday at Gulfstream. Working in company with Special Agent, Honor Code broke off at the half-mile pole a length behind his stablemate, covered his opening quarter in 23.04, reached the finish line under wraps in 46.59, then continued out into the turn, completing the move at the mile pole before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.24.

Mon, 03/03/2014 - 14:54

Gulfstream Park: No Nay Never moves ahead after first career loss

Tom Keyser
Trainer Wesley Ward said No Nay Never will still point to the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot in June after the colt's first career defeat in Saturday's Swale Stakes.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Wesley Ward acknowledged his frustration after his previously undefeated No Nay Never suffered his first defeat when finishing second behind the late-running Spot as the odds-on favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2 Swale at Gulfstream.

“I was really disappointed that he got beat,” Ward said. “There are a lot of variables that you think you could have done differently, but after the fact, the end result is what it is. I just hold this horse in such high regard, I thought he’d go down there in 1:21 and change even after a 44-and-change half-mile.

Mon, 03/03/2014 - 14:42

Gulfstream Park: Ribo Bobo remains red-hot

Tom Keyser
Ribo Bobo won the $75,000 Caixa Eletronica Stakes on Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When it appeared that Sunday’s $88,500 Caixa Eletronica Stakes was in jeopardy of not filling, trainer Jason Servis began considering alternatives for his win machine, Ribo Bobo. The list of options spanned the widest of possible spectrums, from a $6,250 starter allowance race in New York to a trip to Dubai for the $2 million Golden Shaheen.

Mon, 03/03/2014 - 12:43

Tampa Bay Derby: Casse, Pletcher have top contenders

Tom Keyser
Vinceremos, under Edgar Prado, scores a 12-1 upset in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Mark Casse and Todd Pletcher’s training operations are different in many ways. Casse bases his stable at Woodbine near Toronto from the time he leaves Florida each winter until late fall, while Pletcher is based in New York at Belmont Park and Saratoga once he leaves Florida each spring.

Most of the horses in Casse’s stable are owned by John Oxley, while Pletcher has a number of different owners and ownership groups for his large string of runners.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 18:24

Santa Anita: Mucho Macho Man is 124-pound highweight in Big Cap

Benoit & Associates
Mucho Macho Man works a half-mile in 48.80 seconds at Santa Anita on Sunday ahead of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mucho Macho Man is alone at the top of the weights for Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap with an assignment of 124 pounds for the meeting’s top race for older horses.

On Sunday afternoon, Mucho Macho Man had the Santa Anita racetrack to himself for a few minutes, working five furlongs in 1:01.53. The workout was the last for Mucho Macho Man before the Big Cap, where he is expected to go favored in his first start in California since a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last November.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 17:01

Santa Anita: Clubhouse Ride leaning toward San Carlos Stakes

Benoit & Associates
Clubhouse Ride will make his first start since September in Sunday's $75,000 Joe Hernandez Stakes at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Clubhouse Ride, second in the 2013 Santa Anita Handicap, is likely to start in Saturday’s $250,000 San Carlos Stakes over seven furlongs.

Trainer Craig Lewis said Sunday he is considering three races Saturday – the San Carlos, the $350,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf, or the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap over 1 1/4 miles on dirt.

Clubhouse Ride has started once this year, finishing fifth in the Joe Hernandez Stakes on the hillside turf course Feb. 23. Lewis downplayed the likelihood of a start in the Big Cap.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 16:47

Santa Anita: Baffert has no firm plans for Awesome Baby

Benoit & Associates
Awesome Baby, with Mike Smith aboard, proves uncatchable in the Santa Ysabel for 3-year-old fillies.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Awesome Baby has joined trainer Bob Baffert’s list of hopefuls for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 2, but how she gets to that race remains to be seen, Baffert said.

Awesome Baby remained unbeaten in 2014 with a victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita. She led throughout the Grade 3 race for 3-year-old fillies, winning by 2 3/4 lengths over Artemis.

The victory was Awesome Baby’s first over 1 1/16 miles. She won the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs here Jan. 4, her first stakes win.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 16:29

Oaklawn cancels final five races Sunday due to bad weather

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park canceled the final five races on its nine-race program Sunday due to inclement weather. The decision was made after conferring with the local riding colony, according to officials.

It’s the second partial card lost during the meet. Oaklawn also has lost four full programs to bad weather since the meet began Jan. 10.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 15:49

Aqueduct: Sweet Reason to make 2014 debut Friday

Barbara D. Livingston
Sweet Reason, a likely favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, worked an easy mile in 1:46.80 on Sunday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sweet Reason, last year’s Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes winner, will make her 3-year-old debut in a one-mile allowance race Friday at Aqueduct.

The $69,000 race, which is for 3-year-old fillies who have never won three races lifetime or who are entered for a claiming price of $75,000, drew a field of five. The other four runners are maiden winners still eligible for a first-level allowance condition.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 14:23

Aqueduct: Top three from Gotham likely to go in Wood Memorial

Debra A. Roma
Samraat, under Jose Ortiz, outfinishes Uncle Sigh and In Trouble to win the Gotham Stakes on Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The top three finishers from Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham Stakes – Samraat, Uncle Sigh, and In Trouble – all seem to have come out of the race in good order and, barring a change of heart or a setback, are expected to return to Aqueduct for the Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial on April 5.

Samraat ran his record to 5 for 5 with a neck victory over Uncle Sigh, the same 1-2 finish as in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes here Feb. 1. Uncle Sigh finished a neck in front of In Trouble, who was making his first start since Sept. 29.